I am doing a project for class and was hoping to get some information from this forum, the tooltime forum seemed most relevant because the project is about bicycle tools. So if you will all reply to the questions, it would be most appreciated, and the data will be used in my presentation. Mods, feel free to move it if you feel necessary.

1) What type of tool is the most expensive you own.
2) Have you ever cobbled together a tool, instead of buying one that was costly.
3) Would you rather work on your bike yourself or take it to a bike shop for repair.
4) Would you be interested in a bicycle tool rental service.

Thank you,
Andrew

01-13-2013

nov0798

1. (Bicycle Tool) Chris King hub tool
2. Yes, made a set of bearing pullers/drivers for Trek Fuel EX frames
3. Do it myself, that way I can ensure it was done correctly
4. No, I buy the tools I need. I see it as an investment.

01-13-2013

Nrs1Rider

1. Wrecnh/Socket set.
2. Yes, many times.
3. I work in a shop but have most of the tools I need so usually do the stuff at home.
4. I don't mind spending $20-30 on bike specific tools from time to time. They have all been used multiple times since buying them.

01-13-2013

wschruba

1) Professional truing stand.
2) No, but I have used deep sockets as bearing punches.
3) I work at a shop...so myself, I guess.
4) Not really. Unless I can see the condition of the tool before I 'check it out' so to speak, I wouldn't even think about it. The tools I would consider using (taps, presses, reamers, facers) have a ton of room to be abused, and that would impact either the quality or ability to do my project.

01-13-2013

andy311

Thank you all for the replies, this is all just being used for a class on starting a business, and whether or not it would be a valid concept or not.

01-13-2013

JerBear007

1) What type of tool is the most expensive you own. Truing stand.
2) Have you ever cobbled together a tool, instead of buying one that was costly. Yes, headset press.
3) Would you rather work on your bike yourself or take it to a bike shop for repair. Work on it myself, because that's half the fun.
4) Would you be interested in a bicycle tool rental service. No, work is impromptu, renting would just be too impractical.

01-14-2013

bighitdon

1) Phil wood spoke cutter
2) Yes, often
3) I trust VERY FEW shop mechanics
4) Personally, no. i either buy or build the correct tools i need. as a community; sure. good luck making it work.

01-14-2013

customfab

1) What type of tool is the most expensive you own.
BB taps (2 sets) are the most expensive bike specific tool, most expensive outright would be my Miller Dynasty
2) Have you ever cobbled together a tool, instead of buying one that was costly.
I've cobbled together tools at 2 in the morning because I needed them NOW. I've also built some pretty slick custom tools because everything off the shelf just sucks.
3) Would you rather work on your bike yourself or take it to a bike shop for repair.
N/A,
4) Would you be interested in a bicycle tool rental service.
If I were a consumer ad there was something like this that was local I would be all about it. A local Co-Op does a pretty good job of this. Renting bench space in a fully stocked shop is better than renting just the tools you need. Doing a rental service where your shipping tools about seems like a PITA for everybody involved. It's possible but shipping is getting so expensive I can't see it being worthwhile for 99% of people.

01-14-2013

hado_pv

Bb tap and facing tool
Bearing press
Work on my own
No

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01-15-2013

logbiter

1) What type of tool is the most expensive you own.
Bicycle work stand > Truing stand which is ~= headset setting tool
2) Have you ever cobbled together a tool, instead of buying one that was costly.
Many times!
3) Would you rather work on your bike yourself or take it to a bike shop for repair.
Mostly, work on it myself.
4) Would you be interested in a bicycle tool rental service.
Yes, mainly for things like facing tools which are very expensive for the home mechanic (but it's not that expensive to have a local shop do either)

01-15-2013

Tone's

1. bike work stand
2. no, i bought a cheap bike tool kit, its all i need , im just a weekend hacker.
3. work on it myself, its a fun thing to do pulling apart your bike, probably not fun if you have to do it every day, although some might love it, but fun if you only own a few bikes
4, no id never rent tools, but it could be a good idea if you could pick them up local.

cheers and good luck with your class project....

01-15-2013

Birdman

1) What type of tool is the most expensive you own - bicycle stand
2) Have you ever fabricated a tool, instead of buying one that was costly - yes
3) Would you rather work on your bike yourself or take it to a bike shop for repair - work on bike myself
4) Would you be interested in a bicycle tool rental service - no

JMJ

01-15-2013

sasquatch rides a SS

1) Repair stand
2) Yes
3) Myself
4) Not for myself, however I'd like to see what you have in mind for your project. There is a coop organization somewhat close to me that seems similar to this as far as renting tools goes. PM me if you want some more info.

01-16-2013

Mike87

1) What type of tool is the most expensive you own. - bike stand and/or truing stand
2) Have you ever cobbled together a tool, instead of buying one that was costly. - yes
3) Would you rather work on your bike yourself or take it to a bike shop for repair. - yes
4) Would you be interested in a bicycle tool rental service. - not really, I will purchase a tool before I will rent one. If I can borrow one for a while, I will do that, but I will not rent them.